In the past, one would have struggled to come up with names of Korean actors in Hollywood and anyone who was capable of doing so would have elicited nothing but empty stares.
However, this has gradually changed in the past decade with the Western movie world sitting up and taking notice of a growing Asian market, driven in particular by the Korean film industry.
The past two years alone have seen more recognisable native Koreans and Korean Americans lighting up the big screen across the world, be it in lead roles or amongst the supporting casts.
These actors and actresses have also certainly won acclaim for their chops in front of the camera while winning new fans beyond their usual base.
One such actor is Lee Byung-hun, a mega-star in his own country but now slowly establishing himself in Hollywood.
Lee starred in the Hollywood blockbuster G.
I.
Joe as the white ninja Storm Shadow and exhibited his versatility in method acting and action skills.
His casting not only gain widespread praise and approval from his home country but also exposed him to Western fans who took to him like bees to honey.
Interestingly, it was Korean pop star Rain who was the first big name from his home country to be cast as a lead in a big-budget Hollywood movie, Speed Racer.
While the film did not perform to expectations at the box-office, it did not deter the industry from thrusting him into a second lead role in Ninja Assassin, which did much better on its release.
Korean American Daniel Henney achieved fame and popularity in his mother country and quickly followed that up with a supporting role as Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
A favourite with female fans in South Korea, Henney has been tipped to be one who has the greatest potential for a major breakthrough in Hollywood due to his language abilities and chiselled good looks.
On the small screen, the overwhelming popularity of the Lost series would have been less if not for the presence of Kim Yunjin, while Daniel Kim Dae has also won himself a lead role in Hawaii Five-O.
The increasing push for Korean actors into the Western market has been largely driven by the South Korean government's determination to spread the country's culture and tradition worldwide while using it to build strong commercial foundations for the nation's wealth.
This exporting of the East Asian giant's culture has been called the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, by her government and has already seen it achieve heady popularity throughout Asia.
Korean movies are just one example of this and have been winning awards and making headlines in prestigious film festivals.
Director Park Chan-Wook has already won twice in Cannes with "Oldboy" and "Thirst" while there are already plans to give some of Korea's best films the Hollywood treatment.
With the Hollywood film industry struggling in the current economic climate, film studios have accepted that tapping into the commercial potential of the large Asian market would be critical for their overall survival.
This has in turn led to brighter prospects for Asian talents, especially those from the well-packaged and marketed Korean Wave.
However, this has gradually changed in the past decade with the Western movie world sitting up and taking notice of a growing Asian market, driven in particular by the Korean film industry.
The past two years alone have seen more recognisable native Koreans and Korean Americans lighting up the big screen across the world, be it in lead roles or amongst the supporting casts.
These actors and actresses have also certainly won acclaim for their chops in front of the camera while winning new fans beyond their usual base.
One such actor is Lee Byung-hun, a mega-star in his own country but now slowly establishing himself in Hollywood.
Lee starred in the Hollywood blockbuster G.
I.
Joe as the white ninja Storm Shadow and exhibited his versatility in method acting and action skills.
His casting not only gain widespread praise and approval from his home country but also exposed him to Western fans who took to him like bees to honey.
Interestingly, it was Korean pop star Rain who was the first big name from his home country to be cast as a lead in a big-budget Hollywood movie, Speed Racer.
While the film did not perform to expectations at the box-office, it did not deter the industry from thrusting him into a second lead role in Ninja Assassin, which did much better on its release.
Korean American Daniel Henney achieved fame and popularity in his mother country and quickly followed that up with a supporting role as Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
A favourite with female fans in South Korea, Henney has been tipped to be one who has the greatest potential for a major breakthrough in Hollywood due to his language abilities and chiselled good looks.
On the small screen, the overwhelming popularity of the Lost series would have been less if not for the presence of Kim Yunjin, while Daniel Kim Dae has also won himself a lead role in Hawaii Five-O.
The increasing push for Korean actors into the Western market has been largely driven by the South Korean government's determination to spread the country's culture and tradition worldwide while using it to build strong commercial foundations for the nation's wealth.
This exporting of the East Asian giant's culture has been called the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, by her government and has already seen it achieve heady popularity throughout Asia.
Korean movies are just one example of this and have been winning awards and making headlines in prestigious film festivals.
Director Park Chan-Wook has already won twice in Cannes with "Oldboy" and "Thirst" while there are already plans to give some of Korea's best films the Hollywood treatment.
With the Hollywood film industry struggling in the current economic climate, film studios have accepted that tapping into the commercial potential of the large Asian market would be critical for their overall survival.
This has in turn led to brighter prospects for Asian talents, especially those from the well-packaged and marketed Korean Wave.